Many of today's electronic systems, such as desktop computers and servers, include semiconductor memory devices or modules. Such semiconductor memory devices or modules include solid state drives (SSDs), dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs), and Small Outline-DIMMs (SO-DIMM), all of which utilize memory cells to store data as an electrical charge or voltage.
Improvements in storage density, including increased density of memory cells on each individual module, have been brought about by manufacturing improvements and the ability to accommodate more memory integrated circuits per module using board-level packaging techniques. As this storage density has increased, so has the heat generated from the tightly packed integrated circuits. This increased heat can ultimately lead device failures. To dissipate this heat, memory modules often make use of heat sinks coupled to the semiconductor memory devices or modules.
Heat generation is especially problematic in blade server systems, where high-density SSDs and DIMMs are frequently accessed for memory read and write operations. Although heat sinks may be mounted on the SSDs and DIMMs and air flow from fans is routed through the heat sinks to help dissipate the heat, the increasingly compact form factor of the DIMMs and SSDs oftentimes compromises the heat dissipation effects of the heat sinks and the air flow around them. In light of this problem, memory slots are often intentionally left empty in order to reduce the heat density within the system. Alternatively, server fans are operated at higher rotational speeds or for longer periods in order to increase the air flow and heat dissipation. However, empty memory slots and higher speed fans undesirably compromise the storage density, noise generation, fan replacement costs, and operating expense of these systems. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method and system that efficiently manages the air flow past the heat sinks while maintaining or improving the cost, yield, and performance characteristics and storage density of electronics systems.